"Shuyuan, we didn’t buy much for the house today, so tomorrow, tomorrow I’ll go and buy some more groceries," Ji Ying explained. She hadn’t known that Ji Shuyuan was going to come over today and had only bought a bit of pork; the rest was all vegetables, which made her feel somewhat embarrassed as an aunt.
"It’s okay, Aunt, this is great already."
Ji Shuyuan said politely.
"Nian’an, in the future, you’ll be the first doctor in our family," Ji Shuyuan thought to himself, feeling particularly good about Xu Nian’an becoming a doctor one day.
"How can I compare to Brother Shuyuan? You’ll be a lawyer in the future."
Xu Nian’an said with a smile, "I heard that becoming a lawyer is really tough."
"Getting into Medical University isn’t easy either," Ji Shuyuan replied. The couple of them were of the same age and only a few years apart, so they had plenty to talk about. He knew that his aunt was working at the county’s Chili Sauce Factory that’s been selling really tasty chili sauce; it turned out that the sauce was made by his aunt.
He remembered how much his mother liked it, especially the fish chili sauce, but thought it was a bit pricey. It was only during the New Year’s that she reluctantly bought a jar.
Ji Shuyuan was very sensible and polite, so the Xu family also had a good impression of him.
The next day, Ji Shuyuan followed Xu Nianhua to the county, visited the Chili Sauce Factory, checked out the medical clinic, and also stopped by the house the Xu family rented. Ji Shuyuan felt relieved that his grandfather finally didn’t have to worry about his aunt’s family affairs anymore—their life was getting more and more prosperous.
At noon, Xu Nianhua specially went to the market to buy several dishes to entertain Ji Shuyuan.
As it happened, Pei Yining came to look for her, and Xu Nianhua asked Pei Yining to stay for lunch at their home.
"Yining, this is my uncle’s son, Ji Shuyuan," Xu Nianhua introduced, "Brother Shuyuan, this is my friend, Pei Yining, she’s from Ningbei."
"Hello," Ji Shuyuan pursed his lips in a greeting; he thought that his little sister’s friend was as lovely as she was, with the girl sporting a doll-like face and looking even younger than his sister.
Pei Yining was lively, introducing herself by saying, "I will be a student at Beining University just like Nianhua in the future. And you? Why haven’t I ever seen you before?"
Pei Yining had been to the Xu family’s home twice and had never seen Ji Shuyuan, who looked refined but, like a brother, seemed to be cold and not talkative.
"I live with my parents in South City, and I attend university there," Ji Shuyuan answered succinctly.
Pei Yining nodded and said, "Nianhua, your relatives are all impressive, one by one they’re university students."
"Oh, right, Nianhua, how about I have my brother accompany your cousin? How does that sound?" Pei Yining eagerly tried to orchestrate opportunities for them to get along.
"Sure, go ahead and call your brother over, along with Grandpa Du, and also let my second brother know," Xu Nianhua added, as she had bought a lot of groceries that day. Even if Pei Yicheng and Xu Nian’an were to come over, there would be enough food. She would just need to cook a little extra rice.
In the kitchen, Xu Nianhua was busy preparing a large table full of dishes.
"Hey, Ling Dong and Cheng Hao didn’t come? And Grandpa Du?" Xu Nianhua noticed that Pei Yicheng and Xu Nian’an had arrived but several others were missing, and couldn’t help but ask.
"Grandpa has something to do, he has to go out later. Ling Dong is also busy with something, and I haven’t seen Cheng Hao," Pei Yining said as she sniffed the tempting aroma of the food and made her way into the kitchen, drooling over the dishes.